New Member Introduction

Rick & Linda Gill hail from Scottsdale and have joined AYC after years of involvement with The Northport, NY, Yacht Club. Rick and Linda have served as members and chairpersons of various yacht club committees and Rick also served on the Board of Governors and as Treasurer for six years. Active cruisers, they have sailed to numerous ports in the Northeast on their Pearson 30, then Pearson 36, Pearson 42CC and finally their Nonsuch 30. They have also enjoyed cruising experiences in the BVIs. Rick has raced in various crew assignments, more recently in the Leukemia Cup on Lake Pleasant and the return leg of the New York Yacht Club Race from Newport to Bermuda. They are looking forward to many more cruising and racing experiences

Ralph Vatalaro’s first sailing experience was during a summer NROTC cruise when the XO’s daughter invited the Midshipmen for a day sail on the family Lightning. After that he was hooked—on sailing, that is. After doing his best impression of Ensign Pulver in His Majesty’s Navy, his sailing continued with a series of misadventures over the ensuing years: nearly colliding with a large buoy at night while at the helm in San Francisco Bay, running aground in front of a large power boat in Swan Creek entering Lake St. Clair, being hoisted to the top of the mast to retrieve a lost halyard after a MORC race at Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit.

After moving to Arizona, his sailing adventures continued: being “found” by the Coast Guard in Lake Tahoe (their significant others reported them overdue—late for dinner), a holding tank almost overflowing in Avalon Harbor (had to make a hasty departure), powering their way through the mud in Knapp’s Narrows in the Chesapeake (wrong side of the channel?), returning to port after his crew threatened mutiny if they continued in a squall to Antibes, and last, but not least, being dumped into Lake Pleasant at the leeward mark when the skipper turned before the spinnaker take down. After all of this fun, Ralph is looking forward to finding a boat and getting back into racing with the AYC this fall!

If you’re a new member and have not been introduced through Compass Points, please send a brief write-up about you (and your family) to membership@arizonayachtclub.org.